Valtavalo fights the throwaway culture with lighting solutions based on a replaceable light source: “EU legislation finally reflects the message we have been repeating for years”

“In the first years of the 2000s, the lighting industry was undergoing a transformation with the development of the cheaper and more efficient white LED. The founding stakeholders of Valtavalo saw a potential for a business idea in the situation and founded the company in 2008.

Today, we offer energy-efficient lighting to companies and public administrations. Products with a long service life also make possible a service business in which energy-efficient lighting is designed, delivered to, installed and maintained for the customer. Once customers realise how easy our solutions are to service, they often want to take over the responsibility for maintaining the lighting themselves.

Valtavalo’s operation has been based on the circular economy since the company was founded. We are pioneers and advocates of sustainable lighting. It is important for us to be able to provide lighting that withstands the test of time and is environmentally friendly. According to our calculations, our customers reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by more than 3,600 carbon dioxide tonnes a year. This corresponds to the emissions of approximately 4,000 return flights from Helsinki to New York.

In addition to saving energy, we also want to avoid unnecessary consumption of materials. The replaceability of the light source makes it possible to reuse the lighting unit for many more years. For a long time, we were the only ones conveying our message, and it is therefore particularly wonderful that the European Union has finally realised the importance of the issue. The EU’s Ecodesign Directive that enters into effect in autumn 2021 encourages companies to engage in the circular economy and draws attention not only to energy efficiency but also to the opportunities to reuse, update, repair and recycle products. All these aspects are already taken into account in our products.

We have learned that things do not always go quite as planned. For example, in 2012, we moved our production from China to Kajaani when we realised that it was better for us to manufacture our products in Finland. It was a huge investment and a geographic leap, but it turned out to be a good idea. Finnish production is an important value for both ourselves and our customers.

Our future looks bright especially because of the new EU directive. As a result, awareness of the environmental effects of lighting and the demand for the lighting solutions we offer are increasing. It is great that consumers and companies both find the environment and responsibility increasingly important.”